Yes, I have a self-cleaning oven… Well it would be one thing if I used the “self-clean” every once in a while but who has time for that? LOL Instead we use it and use it however when it came time for the Eco-Green Kitchen Cleaning Challenge to clean the oven, I took a good look inside and thought Um, Yup this is much needed. OK, I have to put a little disclaimer here I do clean it but just not that often… As I said, who has time to wait the 4-6 hours for self clean?

In keeping with the Eco-friendly challenge I came up with this “concoction” which seemed to do the trick pretty good.

Chemical Free Oven Cleaning Concoction

Ingredients:

5T Baking Soda
3 Drops of Liquid Dish Soap
4T White Vinegar
Lemon

Directions:

Mix the above into a thick paste.

Watching it bubble reminded me of an old chemistry experiment

Use a sponge to apply to the oven cleaning concoction to the inside of the oven

Let sit for an hour or so

Get ready to work those arm muscles and scrub

Use a lemon to scrub some more and get rid of the vinegar smell

Rinse thoroughly with water and wipe dry

*a little tip before baking in the oven after cleaning I would take some bread and bake it to “absorb” the smells so it doesn’t end up in your next dish.

I don’t know about you but I have a “little” problem with food breaking the boundaries of my pans sometimes and messing up my oven floor. Obviously it is best to try and stop this from happening so here are a few tips:

Muffins: Use a measuring cup with a spout to pour batter into muffin tins neatly, avoiding drops on the tin that can burn and “hop” off. To make sure your muffins don’t topple over never fill the tins more than ¾ full.

Casseroles: Put a cooking sheet on the rack below with aluminum foil inside. If anything spills over it is as easy as throwing up the foil.

Pies: I find that it is best when cooking pies to use a silicone mat (for baking cookies) on a baking sheet below. Again, that way the mat will catch the bubbling fruit that almost always runs over the sides.

Somehow those are my worst culprits for “overflow” hope this helps and remedies… What do you use and tell me how often do you clean your oven? Remember no judgments coming from me!

This morning I am working on Day 2 Greener Cleaning Kitchen Challenge: How I Clean My Stove top with Natural Cleaners, Woot Woot!

This morning I picked up on my second Eco-Green Kitchen Cleaning Challenge. I picked up some handy dandy tips (from the world wide web) for cleaning glass tops which I will pass onto all of you, as well as a wonderfully smelling green “concoction” that left me feeling great and dancing around my kitchen to “beautiful girl” and all I kept thinking was “beautiful stove top!” lol

8 Ways to a mean green and clean dancin machine cook top!

1. Verify that the cooking surface has cooled down before attempting to clean it. Monitor the “hot surface” light feature on your stove.

2. Wipe and clean the glass top with hot soapy water or a mild, non-abrasive cleanser with a damp cloth or sponge as soon as possible once the cook top has cooled down. For more of an elbow cleaning kind of day try the concoction below to get up old grease and grime!

3. Clean the glass top cooking surface after every meal so food does not become baked on and stuck on the next time you cook. You’ll really regret cooking with a dirty stove.

4. Soak heavy, sticky spills such as candy, jellies, syrup and sauces, as soon as possible. Hot water will help soften the spill.

5. Use a scraper made specifically for glass top stoves to help lift and scrape away stubborn spills, being careful to not scratch the surface. Continue to clean the entire cooking surface using a mild, non abrasive cleaner (baking soda is the green abrasive!) and a damp cloth or sponge.

6. Try the cleaning concoction below! This will become your best friend for cleaning white film, metal specks from the bottom of your pots, heavy soils marks, dark streaks and any other strange discolorations that may appear. As well as glass tops!

7. Remember that your glass top stove is not a new counter top. Avoid placing objects on it,such as plastic bags, that may accidentally melt or adhere to the surface if it is still hot. Be sure to monitor the “hot surface” light before setting anything on it.

Enough liquid soap or detergent to make a frosting-like consistency (see note, below)

5 drops antibacterial essential oil such as lavender, tea tree oil, or rosemary (optional)which I just happened to have picked up when I visited Canyon Ranch last summer. Yay for aromatherapy cleaning!

Directions:

Pour the baking soda in a bowl

Slowly pour in the liquid soap or detergent, stirring all the while, until the consistency reaches that of frosting.

Scoop the creamy mixture onto a sponge, wash the surface, and rinse, and don’t forget to throw yourself into the rubbing and scrubbing!

Note: If you have hard water, you will want to choose a liquid detergent instead of a liquid soap. Most health food stores offer all-purpose liquid detergents and soaps. These are the best choices because they include no synthetic perfumes and dyes, and tend to be the most concentrated.

Also, use gloves! Silly me didn’t and the baking soda and tea tree oil did a little number on my hands..

I left the cleaner on the stove top for about 5 minutes to harden a bit and then came back with my little rag, cranked up my little music box and started to burn some serious calories scrubbing. It was elbow grease time; I wanted to see if I could really make this sparkle and impress the old hubby! So circle, circle, rinse, repeat with a few little dance moves mixed in and after about 15 minutes I was done. Oh my goodness, well you tell me what you think…

Last week I started something new for my “wellness makeover,” I’m now going “green” with my cleaning, and creating a new section called Green Living. It began when my new friend Carla who I met during the Winter ProBlogger 31dbbb challenge asked me to join her “greener cleaning mom’s kitchen challenge” just in time for spring cleaning. For years I have worried a little about all of the chemicals in cleaners as I have rubbed and scrubbed with numerous cleansers and worried about the fumes for me and also for my family especially little Hadley with her medical conditions. Thanks to Carla I am learning I don’t have to sacrifice health for a clean home. Nontoxic DIY cleaners deliver considerable power at minimal cost too which is a “good thing.”

So I thought why not?

This week’s challenge was to clean your kitchen sink. Now you have to know I clean my kitchen sink about 4 times a day, unless it is a lazy Sunday and you know the stuff just piles up until good old Monday!- Um, don’t you do that too?

When I went to take the photo’s of my sink I did notice some black around the drain and between the sink and the granite at the top so those were really going to be the areas I worked on the most.

What did I use to clean the kitchen sink:
OK Carla recommended cleaning with 1 part white vinegar and 1 part Baking Soda to make a paste but we were out of white vinegar so I thought about the great smell of lemons and knew they make great sponges sometimes and leave the disposal smelling great so I used the baking soda and water to make a little paste and scrubbed with my lemon.

Lemon: A deodorizer, stain remover, and grease cutter; acts as a mild bleach when exposed to sunlight.

So with a little elbow grease here are the before…

during…

and after photo’s…

Next time I will have to try the vinegar/baking soda mixture and see if there is a difference… but loved the lemony smell from the disposal, and no waste or trash! OK now just waiting on this week’s challenge… How about you, want to join?